The End of Land Lines

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

New wireless technology is about to allow cell phones to further assert their supremacy over landline phones. By switching to Wi-Fi networks in their homes, cell phone users will soon be able to ditch their landlines altogether if they choose.


T-Mobile is testing a dual-mode phone that will allow users to make phone calls from both a cellular network as well as a Wi-Fi network. The company declined to comment on the project except to say it will conduct a trial run before the end of this year.

Cingular Wireless representatives said the carrier is also considering offering a similar phone next year. Sprint is reportedly considering a similar service in collaboration with cable providers such as Comcast. And businesses are starting to run pilot programs for dual-mode technology in which workers route all calls through their mobile devices.

The land line trend isn't growth.That's for sure.